MISSING:CNET Senior Editor and Family

[Dag Nasty Evil]

James Kim, CNET's senior editor of digital audio, his wife, and two little girls went missing last Saturday.
(The Kim Family) drove from their home in the SF Bay Area to Seattle. They were expected back some time Sunday, but were last seen by a hotel clerk at 5:45 PM on Saturday in or between Gold Beach or Portland, Oregon.
Read the rest on Engadget. (http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/30/cnets-james-kim-and-family-missing-have-you-seen-them)

Man this is really sad...

[Savok]

The hell?!

[Megalith]

http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/banhammer.jpg

Enough of your crap. Done forever.

[Skjef]

I like how his wife is white.You're a tool.

[Orosco]

I like how his wife is white.

Uhhh.....what the hell is that supposed to mean?

[cp#]

Sooo... no one knows if they were going on a trip or something?? This is a job for the local officials

[Kelegacy]

It's James Kim, not Shane. Or did Engadget get the name wrong?

[Dag Nasty Evil]

They left for Oregon on the 24th and were supposed to be back on the 27th he wasn't. No one has seen or talked to them since they left he had his 4 year old and 7 month old daughters with him, I think this warrants some concern.

[Zeal]

But the soul still burns.

[H1PO]

holy crap that sucks.

They left for Oregon on the 24th and were supposed to be back on the 27th he wasn't. No one has seen or talked to them since they left he had his 4 year old and 7 month old daughters with him, I think this warrants some concern.

DAMN US LIBERAL OREGONIANS! its all our fault........

[Spigot]

Man, that's messed up. I'm not at all familiar with that part of the world, but how dangerous are the roads between San Francisco and Seattle? I'd assume lots of hilly, mountainous roads, correct?

Oh, and Megalith, you're a jack-ass.

[fitbabits]

I like how his wife is white.

He probably just forgot to charge his cell phone.
You're a right class act, Megalith. And by class act I mean moronic turd.

[Rone]

Wasn't there a trolling crackdown a few months back? Why is Megalith still around?

Looks like some of that Oregon trip is a small highway through a forest. Hopefully they just took a little side trip on the way back.

[Johan]

Rone, there are some questions in life that cannot be answered. :(

On topic, I hope everything turns out for the best and it's all some weird misunderstanding or something. One can only hope for the best.

[Atepsflame]

Damn. This is mysterious. Very mysterious... Hopefully they show up.

[wyeast]

What the fuck???

Man, that's messed up. I'm not at all familiar with that part of the world, but how dangerous are the roads between San Francisco and Seattle? I'd assume lots of hilly, mountainous roads, correct?

Oh, and Megalith, you're a jack-ass.

Totally depends on the route they took. If they were at Gold Beach, it sounds like they were headed up the coast. It doesn't get dicey until you go to cross back over into the valley - in Oregon it wasn't bad, but Western Washington's been a mess the past few days. :(

[Heretic Machine]

Man, I hope they're alright. Being missing that long, something had to of gone seriously wrong, you don't just drop out of contact for days and days like that with your whole family.

Oh, ban Megalith please, there is no reason for him to be here.

[Madhatter45]

Oh that's horrible. My prayers are with him and his loved ones. May they find their way home safely.

[Heretic Machine]

Oh, and this should be front paged.

[harle]

Hopefully everything will turn out alright. Most of the major roads leading from California to Washington are pretty safe. There are a few points on the coastal route that could be dangerous, with high cliffs and sharp blind turns, but quite a few cars go along that route, so you would think someone would notice if anything happened. My best wishes go out to his family.

[askheaves]

I've heard that route is windy and long.

And if they went missing in the last few days, that's not a great sign. It really has been a fucking disaster here since Monday night in Seattle. It could be that something terrible has happened in this completely ill-equipped state, or that they realized how nasty it is out there and decided to wait until today to leave (the first day the roads weren't completely iced over).

[wyeast]

Rrrrrr - I've been checking out local news, looks like some details were backwards. It looks like they were last seen in Portland, headed for Gold Beach. Our weather hasn't been too crummy in the city, but there was certainly snow in the coast range. :(

[Tentaro]

Yeah, Seattle was all fucked up in some areas early this week. I live near downtown/cap hill where it hasn't been as icy as some parts apparently. If they are found, please update us and let us know.

[MaiXu]

Is Megalith is just angry because he can't get a white woman?

[bapenguin]

You're a tool.

A tool that's banned forever.

[Worldcrafter]

I seem to remember seeing James on TechTV back when it was worth watching. He seemed like a really friendly nice guy. I really hope he and his family are okay!

[fitbabits]

A tool that's banned forever.
Did you like that I left it to you, bap? I was all set to ban him last night and then I remembered you and him having some history.

[Jenga]

Megalith got banned? Today is a happy day.

[fitbabits]

Megalith got banned? Today is a happy day.
Yes, and not just a slap on the wrist ban - this is a full-on, in your face, banned for life ban!

[Savok]

Do we have artists here? Someone needs to draw a guy rubbing the banhammer guy's chest... it's just so rubbable.

[Lutheran]

I hope this family is found safe and sound in some out of the way hotel or something , I will pray for them.

[LilAbner]

Man this sucks. It really hits home because I have an 8-month-old daughter. I hope they're all ok, but I fear the worst.

[Riproar]

Makes me sad to think any harm could come to the Kim family.

Does anyone here know what that licence plate number stands for? The plate is DOESF.
It doesn't mean what I think it means does it?

[Mortis]

Man I've seen him in video reviews before, sad news. I don't visit Cnet much but I still recognized him. Hopefully they are ok.

[Spigot]

Yes, and not just a slap on the wrist ban - this is a full-on, in your face, banned for life ban!
Thank you very much. You've just done the whole EvAv community a favour. If you could do it to michaelwhite for his recent trolling of an obituary thread, of all things, I know I'd be happy!

And thanks to everyone for helping me get an idea of the landscape that they'd be travelling. I figured it was a lot of windy roads. I hope they're just holed up at some creepy hotel instead of being somewhere off the side of a mountain :(

[TheFlyingOrc]

Thank you very much. You've just done the whole EvAv community a favour. If you could do it to michaelwhite for his recent trolling of an obituary thread, of all things, I know I'd be happy!

And thanks to everyone for helping me get an idea of the landscape that they'd be travelling. I figured it was a lot of windy roads. I hope they're just holed up at some creepy hotel instead of being somewhere off the side of a mountain :(

The best thing about this thread is that he's gone. Thank goodness.

[BabyJesus]

Very odd. I just watched a video review with him the other day.

Hope they turn up alive and well. Does not sound good though, anytime a whole family goes missing for more than a few days it usually does not turn out well.

[Wraith]

The family made two phone calls to a Gold Beach hotel last Saturday, the second call at 5:45 p.m., said San Francisco Police Detective Angela Martin. The family reportedly asked the hotel clerk to leave a key outside since they would be arriving late that night.

That phone call was the last reported contact with the family. The Gold Beach hotel did leave keys out for the Kim family, but the keys were still there the next morning, KGW-TV in Portland reported.

The Kims' vehicle was described as a silver 2005 Saab 900 station wagon displaying California personalized license plate DOESF.

Co-workers of James Kim, a senior editor for CNET Networks Inc., said they had not heard recently from Kim, who always kept in touch daily by phone or e-mail.San Jose Mercury News (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/16138785.htm)

[wezlypipz]

Very sad. I hope they're alright.

[Stormwatcher]

Wow, I never head of him, but the news is sad anyway. I hope everything ends up ok.

[Mister Pie]

Well, just to echo what everyone else has said, I hope it turns out alright.

[jordanlund]

Native Oregonian here... It's quite a hike from Portland to Gold Beach. (Northern border with WA to Southern Coast). The times I've driven it I've gone to Eugene (125 miles) stayed the night then driven to Florence (60 miles) and down the coast to Gold Beach (probably another 130 miles or so).

It can be a dangerous drive, lots of wind, curvy roads and cliff-sides to watch out for.

I haven't seen any local coverage on the news about this though.

[Neon Wraith]

Man, that's messed up. I'm not at all familiar with that part of the world, but how dangerous are the roads between San Francisco and Seattle? I'd assume lots of hilly, mountainous roads, correct?

well coming up I-5 is a relatively safe drive, even in the winter. The only problem would have been coming over the Siskiyou Pass which can have some problems in the winter but being a rather straight shot over the mountains and with the road crews down there its never really dangerous.

However if they were heading to Gold Beach that means they were heading up 101. In some places 101 can get real nasty, especially in bad weather. there are many areas along it where you only have a K-rail or an old-fashioned steel and wood rail keeping your vehicle from goind over a 200 foot cliff to the ocean. In some areas you have nothing, especialy on sections of old 101.

If I were heading to seattle on a 3 day trip I definately would not be thinking about using 101 to get through OR. Just using I-5 is about a 12-14 hour drive in the best conditions

[AversionFX]

So I take it there's nothing new about this? I find it extremely creepy that an entire family would just disappear. Moreso, someone who's a member of the tech community. Most of all, a family with two little girls.

The possibilities are endless, and deeply unsettling. I hope for the best, though.

The news article really gave me the creeps with the line about the hotel key, and it being there the next morning. I think if I was an employee at a hotel expecting a guest, and left a key for them, I'd be really creeped out to find it there the next morning.

PS. Thanks for banning Megalith, his comment was just uncalled for.

[JazGalaxy]

So I take it there's nothing new about this? I find it extremely creepy that an entire family would just disappear. Moreso, someone who's a member of the tech community. Most of all, a family with two little girls.

The possibilities are endless, and deeply unsettling. I hope for the best, though.

The news article really gave me the creeps with the line about the hotel key, and it being there the next morning. I think if I was an employee at a hotel expecting a guest, and left a key for them, I'd be really creeped out to find it there the next morning.

PS. Thanks for banning Megalith, his comment was just uncalled for.

I'm wondering where we go to stay on top of the story.

As an aside to others who say their prayers are with Kim and his family... Do you really pray, or is that just something you say? Saying it without doing it is worthless.

[Dag-Sabot]

-does it make a difference?

[jordanlund]

There doesn't seem to be any more info than what we already know. That make and model of Saab comes standard with OnStar so I called SFPD and suggested they have OnStar trace it, they told me they've already gone down that road.

Local coverage here:

http://www.kptv.com/news/10439747/detail.html

Here:

http://www.koin.com/Global/story.asp?S=5755514

and here:

http://www.katu.com/news/4798716.html

SFPD site here:

http://www.sfgov.org/site/police_index.asp?id=37978

[AversionFX]

That make and model of Saab comes standard with OnStar so I called SFPD and suggested they have OnStar trace it, they told me they've already gone down that road.

And what was the result?

[Dag-Sabot]

And what was the result?Connection error: Server unavailable try again soon. I just want to see what kind of tires he had on that SAAB.

[AversionFX]

Connection error: Server unavailable try again soon. I just want to see what kind of tires he had on that SAAB.

An entire family is missing, and Onstar's servers aren't even up to assist? Talk about dependable.

[jordanlund]

SFPD wouldn't tell me, I'm just a plebe after all. But it's nice to know they already thought of it.

[[VSK]BadCRC]

I think this is a job for the Hardly Boys (http://youtube.com/watch?v=F3jMoGTnimc).

[Vader582]

Man...I hope this turns out well. I remember seeing him on TechTV back when they had an actual tech-news program. Hopefully there will be a happy ending to this situation.

[Disgustipated]

This is really bad. The possibilities for tragedy are endless. I just hope some Ted Bundy-wannabe didn't get ahold of them.

[The Continental]

Saw on Digg that the official Missing Person listing is now online:
http://www.sfgov.org/site/police_index.asp?id=37978

[Johan]

These things almost never end well; I know we're all hoping it does, though. :(

[pacman]

Man, I hope they're alive and ok. :(

[blankoboy]

Well, if their vehicle has not been located I am hoping they took some detour and are enjoy a day or two of camping in the middle of nowhere rather than anything bad happening to them. I pray they are ok.

[Borgboy]

The news article really gave me the creeps with the line about the hotel key, and it being there the next morning. I think if I was an employee at a hotel expecting a guest, and left a key for them, I'd be really creeped out to find it there the next morning.

I've worked the night shift at a hotel for about 4 years now, and it has been my experience that it is actually quite common. At our hotel, we regularly have people who fail show up when they have reservations, or don't pick up room keys left for them by family/friends. Usually it is simply because of a deviation in plans, but it is obvious that isn't the case here, as they would have told their families, friends, or coworkers.

[jordanlund]

I don't know if anyone is still following this thread or not...

Local news just reported that the family was seen at a Denny's in Roseburg the day they vanished. This is good and bad news... Good in that it gives everyone a closer search point than Portland, but Bad in that there's really no "good" way from Roseburg to Gold Beach.

For those unfamiliar with Oregon geography:

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/2803/roseburgyj7.jpg

Gold Beach is in the lower left. Roseburg is in the upper right.

They could have gone North to 138, to 38 to 101, which would make it about a 5 hour drive or they could have gone South to hwy 42 to 101 which would make it... about a 5 hour drive.

I drove hwy 38 at the start of October and for the entire hour from the coast to I-5 I saw exactly one other car.

[KingGorilla]

Sooo... no one knows if they were going on a trip or something?? This is a job for the local officials
In my show I theorize that HP had them wacked. Not to be irreverant but HP and Cnet have had a lot of issues lately.

[Dag-Sabot]

oh please...

[askheaves]

Breaking News:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16036886/

They've found 3 of the 4 members of the family alive with James missing after leaving to seek help.

[Dag-Sabot]

This is news how?
LOL, Just kidding. Great breaking news! Hopefully the dude is ok.

[Johan]

Very bizarre story...

[wyeast]

Oh man, 2 days on foot, I hope they find him alright. :(